Back Pain
I just had surgery on my hip. It was minimally invasive, but invasive enough to cause some prolonged pain. And I was very much expecting that pain, prepared to deal with it. During night two I discovered a whole new kind of pain, lower back pain. I mean the kind of pain where you wake up every hour on the hour wishing for an IV and demerol or whatever it’s called. It certainly doesn’t help that I’m chained to my bed by three machines.
My mom has been sleeping in the other room in our hotel. Every time I wake up with pain, I try to go back to sleep for minutes that seem like hours. I put my iPod on and listen to Tifah, I massage my own back, i shift and strech what little I can. I pelvic tilt. Of course none of that works my pain is still thriving - I resort to yelling her name. My mom comes scrambling.
She unhooks me from the machines and I get out of bed and crutch around (my new favorite hobby) for a few minutes. My mom stands there with the eyes only a mother can have for her child. Empathy at it’s deepest level. But every time this happens I feel absolutely terrible for waking her from her slumber. I slowly ease back into bed, knowing it’s going to feel like hell. It does.
But what gets me is that my back is hurting not my hip. Or rather, it’s hurting much more than my hip. I roll into physical therapy every morning and feel like a total moron explaining that my hip feels good, but my back keeps me up at night. Shannon, Victoria, and Mary Ellen have all helped me over the last few days. Finally at five in the morning today I constructed myself a pillow castle. Two under my knees, one under my feet. One under my lower back and three under my head and shoulders. I slept two full hours and didn’t hurt. Mary Ellen laughed at me today, and told me - ‘Whatever Works’. I hope it works tonight.
Obviously this photo has nothing to do with my back. But that’s Mary Ellen and she’s part of the team of total radness that is helping me save my hip.
Filed by ryanroth at April 4th, 2007 under Life, Young & Hip